


In the Darkness

by Quiet_Shadow



Category: Yoroiden Samurai Troopers | Ronin Warriors
Genre: Blindness, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-15
Updated: 2013-09-15
Packaged: 2017-12-26 16:12:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/967965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quiet_Shadow/pseuds/Quiet_Shadow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Byakuen run as fast as he can, jumping over obstacles I can’t see, and that I might never see again, if I believe what my enemy said… or what was going on through Ryo’s mind when he went blind.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In the Darkness

**Author's Note:**

> A short fic I wrote a couple of years ago for a challenge on a forum. We had to explorate a character's thought during a scene of the series.
> 
> Warnings: Some spoilers for Episode 5 of the series, ‘Halo’s Prison’.
> 
>  
> 
> Thank to Dellesa for the beta. :)

It happened so fast I’m still having trouble gathering my thoughts.

Byakuen runs as fast as he can, jumping over obstacles I can’t see, and that I might never see again, if I believe what my enemy said. Tears, both from pain and rage, slide from my burning eyes. I feel like I’m drowning in an ocean of pain. Damn you, Naaza!

I admit part of it is my own fault, I should have been more attentive when I dodged the blades he had sent at me. But never had I thought he would be so disloyal. I should have known, though; the very name of Doku Masho and our previous encounter at Sengoku University should have been warning enough. Naaza isn’t someone who fights fairly. None of the Masho are, I should have realized that the moment I fought Shuten at the top of Mt Fuji, when he took Jun and Nasutei as hostages. Or when we all fought down in Shinjuku, where the only thing that saved the young woman and the child we wanted to protect was the shield we quickly put on.

I should have known better, but for some reason I just… didn’t. Go figure.

And here’s the result: I’m blind, and almost defenseless. If Byakuen hadn’t come back for me, if he hadn’t disobeyed my orders to stay with the others the moment he felt I was in danger, I would have been dead already. I’m grateful he did, I really am. However, if he’s with me, it means that Jun and Nasutei are now the defenseless ones.

My hands tightens in the white tiger’s fur, that large, lethal white tiger who is both my friend and my protector. I feel him slowing down, and I can hear him growl. Is he trying to reassure me? I can’t say.

I know he’s injured too. And it’s my fault. Oh, Byakuen, if you knew how sorry I am…

I can still hear the laughter of my adversary ringing in my ears, laughing at me, laughing at the success of his trap, laughing at his ‘victory’. Coward! My hands tightens a bit more in Byakuen’s fur, not because of the pain this time, but because I feel rage building inside me. I was an idiot, I know it. And now, Nasutei and Jun are in danger! Not only them, but Seiji, too!

Finally, Byakuen stops his mad run. It must means he lost our pursuers. Unsteadily, I let myself drop off the tiger’s back and to the floor.

I’m not stupid. If Naaza isn’t hunting me down just yet, it means he’s going after Kourin no Seiji first. Seiji, who’s probably sleeping like I was in the heart of the volcano, and as such is vulnerable to any attack, unable to defend himself. If he dies… it would be my fault. My fault, for having lead our enemies here. My fault, for allowing them to enter the grottoes and seek him out.

I can hear the sound of water near me. Byakuen growls and rubs his muzzle against my arm, inviting me to follow him. I can hear him fall down on the ground, tired by the long run in the dark caverns. Dark… we mustn’t perceive it the same way, though. I can’t see anything and I’m in pain. He, however, can still adapt his sight to the darkness. I envy him for that.

My hands plunge greedily in the fresh water of an underground stream, and the water I take in my hands help me clear my face and eyes, taking away some of the pain. But opening my eyes remain far too difficult, far too painful. If I try to lift my eyelids, I only met darkness, and not the comforting outline of rocks that I could still expect to distinguish. If I was a lesser man, I guess I could and would cry.

But I have no right to. I’m a samurai, one of humanity’s last hope, and my friends are in danger. I mustn’t feel sorry for myself, I must react, and find Kourin no Seiji before the Youja do. I won’t let Seiji die by Naaza’s hands as long as I live!

Jun and Nasutei… where can they be? Have they managed to find Seiji? Have they managed to avoid Naaza and the Youja? Or are they already dead, their bodies lying in some part of the caverns, eyes wide open and lifeless as blood stain the ground? I can only shudder and shake my head to clear my thoughts and erase the atrocious vision from my mind. Things can’t end up like that! I won’t let it happen!

I turn toward Byakuen, finding him easily through his hot breath, hearing him growl in a way I don’t like. From the noise alone, I can say he’s been hurt too by Naaza’s poison. Damn Masho!  
I try to clear my mind. Moaning and screaming after my enemies will get me nowhere.

The pain is recessing. I feel confident I can walk again, and I need to act fast. Sure, I don’t have my eyes to guide me anymore, but perhaps, with the armor, I can locate Seiji.

I invoke the heavy red armor with a sharp cry and soon, I feel its familiar weight on my shoulders. In a quick, instinctive gesture, I draw the swords out. The armor is calling to each others when they’re near enough. By following the echoes, I will be able to find Seiji. My eyes… my eyes aren’t important right now. Seiji is.

I can only hope I will reach him in time...

**End ******


End file.
